t’s not about being good. Or working hard. Honesty, integrity, morality, honor and respect don’t make the cut, either. Attending church faithfully or tithing regularly? Nope. It’s not providing for your family or earning a degree or succeeding in the workplace. These are all good, but these don’t provide the purpose, the deep and true purpose, of our lives.

“Random acts of kindness in fact reflect the heart of God.” - Anonymous

Two things strike me when I read about the miracle of water into wine. The physical transformation stands out, for sure, but it’s the nature of the circumstances sparking the miracle that catches my attention. The event says something specific about Jesus as a person.

“As you walk with Jesus, resting your head on His heart, you will learn to know His Word, His will, and His ways. You will want to obey Him, not out of forced compliance, but out of heartfelt connection. Your joy will abound as you remain in His love.” ―Sue Detweiler

Reading through Genesis, and indeed, the Old Testament, one cannot miss numerous references to people who “walked with God.” Enoch actually walked so closely with God that, in the end, God took him straight into His presence.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” — Anne Lamott

From traffic lights to lines in grocery stores, so much of life seems to consist of waiting. The minutes in between our daily activities consume a surprising chunk of our time. And this waiting frustrates us, because we never scheduled it.

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” — G.K. Chesterton

“I hate you!” My little brother wailed as we stood on the edge of our grandparents’ pool, staring down at what had occupied the top spot on his Christmas list for the past several months. His shiny new remote-controlled monster truck lay on the tiled bottom.

“We the unwilling, led by the unknown, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.” – Mother Theresa

One day as a kid, my mom came home proudly toting a newly purchased board game. Already an avid competitor in the auspicious realms of “Chutes and Ladders,” “Trouble” and “Candyland” respectively, my will to win surged at the mere sight of the Toys R’ Us bag.